7 times Allied troops stole Nazi vehicles

Look, the Nazis had some cool toys during World War II.

They were far ahead of the other combatants in jet-powered flight, had amazing tanks, and created awesome examples of prop aircraft. So the Allies may have lifted a few of their better vehicles in an effort to see how best to destroy them and, in many cases, how to rip off the technology to use for American equipment.

1. British engineers hunt a Tiger tank

A German Tiger in Sicily, 1943. (U.S. Army photo)

During the North African campaign in World War II, a small group of engineers, some of them with little combat experience, were sent on a dangerous mission, to capture one of the feared Tiger tanks in combat. The four men were on the mission under the direct orders of Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

They raced their Churchill Tank around the back of the Tiger and attacked the crew, killing them with machine guns, and captured the Tiger. Churchill and British King George visited the tank in Africa before it was shipped back to England for further study.

2. An American POW escapes Germany in a stolen Nazi plane

Robert Hoover, one of America's greatest test and fighter pilots, is in the bottom row, second from right. (Photo: U.S Air Force)

3. British commandos stole a Nazi radar station

So, yeah, a radar station isn't a vehicle. But still, British paratroopers went on a daring cross-channel raid to steal radar technology from Germans in occupied France.

Operation Biting, as it was known, was successful and the paratroopers escorted a British radar technician to the German installation, attacked it while the tech removed the most vital components, and then withdrew on foot with two German technicians as prisoner. They left France via boat.

4. Operation LUSTY allowed the U.S. to steal dozens of planes

German Me-163B Komet. (U.S. Air Force photo)

In 1944, the Allied governments were jockeying for the best post-war prizes and intelligence grabs even as the war was still being fought. Army Air Corps Col. Harold Watson and "Watson's Whizzers" were a group of pilots and engineers tasked with collecting the most Luftwaffe technology possible in Operation LUSTY (LUftwaffe Secret TechnologY).

The British shared the Arado 234 with America and the captured jet is the only surviving plane of its type. It currently resides at the Smithsonian Museum.

6. American troops capture a German train and the tank chained to it

Infantrymen of the 3rd Armored Division advance under artillery fire in Pont-Le-Ban, Belgium on Jan. 15, 1945. (Photo and cutline: U.S. Army)

When the 3rd Armored Division reached Soissons in August 1944, it was hot on the heels of retreating German forces. The American crews raced forward to cut off their foes, and some of the tank crews spotted a German train attempting to flee east with a large amount of supplies and a tank.

The Americans tried to take out the tank with 37mm anti-tank fire, but it was ineffective. Instead, they kept steady small arms fire on everyone attempting to get into the tank as the Shermans wiped out the infantry company on the train. The Americans were able to capture the train and the tank. Oddly enough, some of the trains much-needed space was taken up with lingerie and lipstick, likely gifts for German girlfriends.

7. The Royal Air Force has a Focke-Wulf 190 practically handed to them

A captured Fw 190A. (Photo: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force)

The Focke-Wulf 190 fighter plane was arguably the best fighter plane of the war. It would outmaneuver most Allied planes and had a ton of power. The Royal Air Force, the service that faced the 190 most in the early days, wanted to steal one to figure out how to better defeat it.

A series of plans – some of them a little crazy – were proposed, but they became unnecessary when a Luftwaffe pilot accidentally landed one at an RAF base and a local officer was able to capture it with a pistol. The German pilot had become disoriented during a dogfight and, low on fuel, had put down at what he thought was a German base in occupied France.